In a corner of London’s Highgate cemetery is a large marble tomb. It’s long and box-like, with a life-sized sculpture of a dog at its foot. An inscription says, “Erected to the memory of Thomas Sayers”. Now, if I were to ask who Thomas Sayers was, most of us wouldn’t know.
But when he died the situation was different. Sayers was an illiterate bricklayer, who became the most famous athlete of the Victorian age. He was England’s first bare-knuckle boxing champion. His final match was watched by thousands. Trains were chartered by spectators, who included Victorian superstars like Charles Dickens. Even the Prime Minister of England attended; Parliament shortened its hours just for the fight and Queen Victoria asked to be informed of the result.
When he died a few years later, the funeral procession stretched two miles and included some 100,000 folks. At the cemetery people climbed trees and trampled tombstones, hoping for a better view. But all these years later, his reputation has turned to dust. He’s still well known to history buffs – but to the rest of us, he needs an introduction. The point is: eventually we’re all forgotten. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Many people’s purpose in life is to be remembered; but God says we will be remembered when we live our life with purpose.
We can live a life of purpose through a personal relationship with our God.
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit - fruit that will last . . .” - John 15:16a (NIV)
God calls us into a personal love relationship with Himself so we can live fruitful lives and bear fruit that will last. And one passage that speaks to us about how we can bear that will last is Matthew 13:1-9, the Parable of the Sower. I want consider how God has designed us to bear fruit that will last and live lives of eternal significance.
(READ TEXT)
1. The Sower - God.
In verses 18-23, Jesus explains the parable. Though He doesn’t say the farmer represents God, it is certainly implied. Jesus, God in the flesh, was sowing seed through His teaching, but not everyone was receiving it. Why? That’s the parable’s point. What does it teach us about God?
A. God takes the initiative to pursue us.
The farmer takes the initiative to sow the seed. And God also takes the initiative in the pursuing a relationship with us. As Jesus said in John 16:16, “You did not choose me, but I chose you . . .”
Jesus said that no one comes to Him unless the Father first draws them (John 6:44). Jesus told several parables, like this one, that illustrate God’s pursuit of mankind. The entire Bible is about God pursuing us.
God has pursued man through revealing Himself in creation, the Words of the prophets, and ultimately in taking on flesh in Christ. Because we couldn’t reach Him through our efforts, He has reached down to us. He pursues us even when we don’t pursue Him:
“I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’ All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations—a people who continually provoke me to my very face” - Isaiah 65:1–3a (NIV)
God continues to pursue those who have trusted in Christ for salvation. Through His Spirit, God comforts, corrects, and compels His children to hear and obey His Word so that we can live life to the full and bear fruit that will last. And just like the farmer gets up early every day to work his farm, God never gives up on pursuing us.
In No Wonder They Call Him the Savior, Max Lucado tells of Maria & her daughter Christina. Christina left her poor Brazilian home to see the world. She dreamed of life in the city. So she ran away, breaking her mother’s heart. Her mother knew what life on the streets would be like, so Maria left to find her. On her way to the bus stop, she went to photo booth and spent money on all the pictures of herself she could afford. With a purse full of photos, she got on the bus to Rio de Janeiro. She searched bars, hotels, night clubs, any place with street walkers or prostitutes. Everywhere she left a picture - taped to a bathroom mirror, or hotel bulletin board, or corner phone booth. Before long her money and pictures ran out, and she went home.
Weeks later, Christina walked down stairs in a seedy hotel. Her dream had become a nightmare. She longed to trade what life had become for home. But her village seemed too far away. She reached the bottom of the stairs and saw a familiar face. Taped on a mirror was a picture of her mother. She removed the photo. On the back was written: “Whatever you have done, whatever you have become, it doesn’t matter. Please come home.” And Christina went home.
God is the same way. He takes the initiative to pursue us. Whether it is to call us into a relationship with Him, or back into a right relationship with Him, or to go deeper in our relationship with Him. How might He be pursuing you today?
2. The Seed - God’s Word.
A. God’s Word brings life to us.
“For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.” - 1 Peter 1:23 (NIV)
“The great mystery of any living thing is its power to reproduce. And reproduce, says Peter, is exactly what the Word of God does. The only way to be a ‘son of God’ is to be born by the Word of God. When the Word of God is truly heard, and sincerely received into a heart that has been prepared by God, that Word, quickened by the Holy Spirit, becomes a spiritual seed that is imperishable or incorruptible. That seed is the germ of a new creation and it springs into life by making the hearer who believes that Word, a son of God.” - John MacArthur
B. God’s Word brings us to life.
Since God pursues us, we understand that His Word is for the purpose of revealing more of Himself to us, and God’s revelation brings us to a life guided by His wisdom, leading us to live with divine purpose.
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” - 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NLT)
God’s Word teaches us the path to walk, tells us when we’ve got off the path, tells us how to get back on the path and teaches us how to stay on the right path. That path leads us to live the life God has planned, a life bearing fruit that will last. But God’s Word must be received. Which brings us to the third element of the parable.
3. The Soil - Us.
The soil represents our hearts and the different kinds of soil speak of the different conditions of our heart.
1) The hard heart - v. 4; 19
2) The shallow heart - v. 5-6; 20-21
3) The distracted heart - v. 7; 22
4) The good heart - v. 8; 23
Now, the point of this parable is to explain why some heard Christ’s Words and responded, but others did not. So Jesus is giving us a snapshot in time. Anytime God reveals Himself and His truth, different people respond differently because the condition of their heart.
Not everyone’s heart is ready to receive God’s Word. Some are hard, some are shallow, some are distracted. But then there are those whose heart is good. What makes a heart good? (read v. 9) A good heart is one prepared to hear God’s Word. But not just hear it with our ear, but receive it with our hearts and obey it with our lives.
In “5 Hebrew Words That Every Christian Should Know,” Lois Tverberg talks about the word for “hear,” “shema.” She says this is what Jesus was emphasizing with His Jewish audience in verse 9.
“The Shema is also the name of the prayer that has been recited by observant Jews (including Jesus) every morning and evening for thousands of years. It begins with Deuteronomy 6:4-5: ‘Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.’ The Shema was a daily recommitment to love God and to dedicate yourself to following God and obeying his will. Once again, the first word of the Shema isn’t just about ‘hearing.’ It meant, 'Take heed!' 'Listen and respond!' It’s a call to live out your love for God with every part of your being.” - Lois Tverberg
And that is how we can make sure we have a good heart. Any hard heart can become softer, any shallow heart can go deeper, any distracted heart can get focused, if that person chooses to hear God’s Word with a desire to obey.
I'll say yes, Lord, yes to your will and to your way
I'll say yes, Lord, yes I will trust you and obey
When your Spirit speaks to me With my whole heart I'll agree
And my answer will be yes, Lord, yes
Conclusion: Jesus says the good soil produces fruit, some 30 fold, some 60 fold, some 100 fold. In other words, the opportunity for fruitfulness will vary from person to person. My opportunity might be to bear fruit 60 fold, while yours might be to bear fruit 100 fold. But what God will hold us accountable only for is our faithfulness to hear His Word with our ear, receive it with our hearts and obey it with our lives. If we will take care of the faithfulness, God will take care of the fruitfulness. And He will enable us to bear fruit that will last, how long? For eternity.
A life lived for oneself will be a life of insignificance; but a life lived for God is a life of eternal significance.
